Employers urged to embrace diversability

New Zealand employers are being urged to embrace diversability after it was revealed that around 88,000 Kiwis with a disability are currently under-employed.

According to Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees Galloway, if those employees could find more suitable work which fully leverages their skills set, the economy could see a boost of up to $1billion.

"The opportunity is real, it is sizeable, it is there for use to grasp," he said.

One in four New Zealanders are limited by physical, sensory learning, mental health or other impairment, reported 1NewsNow.

Two organisations, ACC and recruitment firm Adecco, are also trying to convince employers to change their mindset about workers with disabilities.

ACC project manager Tim Johnson, once a Paralympic athlete, said businesses need to look at workers with disabilities for what they can do and not for what they can’t.

Another advocate, former rugby player Mano Thompson, said it was difficult for him to find a job after a severe spinal injury. He had six months of rehabilitation and took three years before he could find a job -- but even then employers always asked about the gap in his resume, he told 1NEWS.